Awareness of Disneyland... in Florida

Hey everyone, I've been thinking about this for a while now. Growing up in Southern California, I was very aware of Walt's very expansive "world" in Central Florida. For every Disneyland commercial there was also one for WDW. I remember Mickey waving at me on top of Spaceship Earth, the New Kids on the Block special when Disney-MGM Studios first opened, and thinking the back story to the Tower of Terror being based on our Hollywood Tower in Hollywood. I watched this and more all on SoCal's local tv stations. The general public in Sothern California have always been aware of WDW, but how much does the general public in Central Florida know about Disneyland? Do people out there ever see Disneyland commercials? Did anyone know about Star Tours, Toontown, or Indiana Jones Adventure when it first opened? Thanks.

Re: Awareness of Disneyland... in Florida

I have some disneyland commercials showing up on some of the websites I visit which are targeted mainly at east coasters. For example, one of the FSU websites I visit has had a ton of disneyland and wdw ads on the site, but we don't ever see disneyland commercials.

Growing up as a kid I didn't even know there was a disneyland. All I knew of was Disneyworld. It had been there before I was born and so it's just always been there in my life. My dad later mentioned the other park in california but it was in a derogatory fashion of, "Yeah, there's another park in California, but it was too small so they built this huge resort here." It wasn't until a few years ago when I really started to get back into Walt Disney World as an adult that I began doing research on Disneyland.

So no, unless we really go looking and trying to find out about disneyland, most of us eastcoasters don't know about it. Of course the big fans of everything disney like those of us on these message boards do, but I doubt your average WDW fan knows about the new subs coming in california. I'm not even sure your average fan knows about the new Nemo ride in Epcot or not yet.

Re: Awareness of Disneyland... in Florida

Well, I'm not in Central Florida, but for us in South Florida, sadly, Disneyland was always thought of as the same as the Magic Kingdom. I remember as a child once going to visit family in Southern California and being told there was not reason to go to Disneyland, because "they had the same rides." Of course, now I know there is a difference, but I think most of the population does not know and might not care.

For MANY people I know, WDW is simply known as "Disney." These are the same people that call the Magic Kingdom "Disney."

Sadly, we don't get any Disneyland commercials on TV. I think the WDW marketers want to keep Florida (and Latin American) guests here, and not send them to California.

Re: Awareness of Disneyland... in Florida

Although, on the other hand, while we were at WDW we would get asked where we were from and when we said "California" several times we had people, even cast members, say; "Why did you come all the way out here when you have Disneyland (or some just said "a Disney place") so close to you?" Yeah, I thought that was kind of wierd. Then I had to explain the differences and the fact that I have never been to WDW but have been going to Disneyland all my life.

Re: Awareness of Disneyland... in Florida

I think most people are aware that there is a Disney place in california, especially castmembers, but I don't think most of them are aware of what the major difference is in the parks. My wife still doesn't get why I so desperately want to travel to Anaheim for vacation when we have wdw right here. I haven't even dared mention wanting to go to Tokyo yet because I know exactly what response I would get.

Re: Awareness of Disneyland... in Florida

It is surprising how many people do not know about the original park-Disneyland, and that is probably a good thing. Could you image all the people that can fit into WDW smashed into the area of the DLR? I enjoy(and have worked for )WDW, but Disneyland has a charm that will never be had by the Magic Kingdom or WDW as a whole.

Re: Awareness of Disneyland... in Florida

I always knew about the two parks and even as a kid I remember correcting people who would mistakenly refer to WDW/MK as Disneyland. LOL I guess I was a geek back then too. Most people around here always assume WDW when they think of Disney destinations.

But the only commercial I ever remember for DL around here was when DCA opened in 2001. They aired a commercial showing the characters looking over the construction walls at their new neighbor park.

Re: Awareness of Disneyland... in Florida

So many members of my family visited Walt Disney World before I did. I have always loved all things Disney. I never took very many vacations. When I was raising my kids, we couldn't afford it. Finally in 1997, I talked my husband into taking a vacation to Disney World with our 4 year old grandson. We stayed at the Polynesian and had a wonderful time. I wanted to go back. It took me 6 years to get back. I went back to Disney World each year for the last 4.

I guess I never really thought about Disneyland much back then. I knew it was there. I watched Walt Disney on television as a kid. I figured, that I'd never travel to California. It was too far away. It was too expensive. I couldn't talk anyone into going all the way to California. It was easier to plan another WDW trip.

Then the 50th Anniversary was coming close. A friend of mine had been to Disneyland in 2004. She was impressed, and she was thinking about going back for the celebration on July 17, 2005. Next thing I knew we were planning "our" trip.

It was then that I discovered MiceChat. I had been frequenting another Disney website that concentrated mostly on WDW. I wanted to know about Disneyland. I am a compulsive planner. I bought books, I read everything I could find. I discovered MiceChat. I noticed right away the difference in the way many MiceChatters thought about Disneyland. It was very different than the way people think about Disney World.

Disneyland fans are very proud of their park. They know that they have a gem, and they really appreciate it. They savor the historic magic of it. They defend it, and want what is best for it. They will critique it, and criticize it, when need be. However many of them have no desire to go to WDW or any of the other parks, because "they have the original".

When I have vacationed in Florida, I spoke to people about Disneyland. I have gotten varied comments. Some were quite amusing. "Oh, Disneyland is such a tiny park". "You can see it in a few days." Or, "Yes that's the park that Walt Disney built, and then he planned WDW, because he wanted to make a bigger or better park." .

Disney World is a wonderful place. I love it. It is filled with lots of Disney magic. However Disneyland, is where I'd rather go. I try not to compare the two. To do so, will spoil the moments of the park you are presently at.

So are the Floridians aware of Disneyland? For the most part, I'd say no. They have their huge resort with their 4 parks, 2 waterparks, many many hotels, and they see no need to travel to the other coast. After all, it takes only a few days to do Disneyland, right?

Until you get there. Then, if you're like me, the minute you walk in the place, you realize that there's something different. You want to linger, you don't want to leave. There's just something that you can't put your finger on. You can't put it into words, but you know for a fact that your wanting to go to Disneyland will not be satisfied with just a 2 day visit.

Re: Awareness of Disneyland... in Florida

Is the general public of Central Florida aware of Disneyland? No. Disneyland commercials are not played here, and the general public are not theme park fans to begin with. In fact, many locals have quite the dislike for them (and the tourists they attract.)

Now, if you were to ask specifically about theme park enthusiasts, it's been my personal experience that Floridian enthusiasts tend to have a much better understanding of California's parks than the other way around. The ignorance of certain Californian enthusiasts astounds me. They also tend to carry a superiority complex because their parks are the originals, etc. They don't even care to learn about Florida's parks because they assume they have everything they need.

This is obviously a generalization, but I've had a lot of experience talking to Californian park enthusiasts...

Re: Awareness of Disneyland... in Florida

I suspect it's like west coast opinions of WDW. Which is that most people here know it exists, although they think the MK is named "Disney World" and that they built blown-up duplicates of all the buildings at Disneyland.